A Manual of Hadith: Chapter XIX: Jihād

Jihād means the exerting of one's power in repelling the enemy or in contending with an object of disapprobation. It carries a twofold significance in Islām, being applied to both. the purely missionary activities of a Muslim and his defence of the Faith. when necessary, in a physical sense. The first duty--the duty to invite people to Islām--is a permanent duty laid upon all Muslims of all ages; while the second is a duty which arises upon certain contingencies. The Holy Qur'ān calls attention to both these duties in the clearest and most forceful words. In the first place, it speaks of a jihād to attain to Allāh (v. 1). Then it speaks of carrying on a jihād against unbelievers by means of the Holy Qur'ān, and this it calls jihād-an kabīr-an, a very great jihād (v. 2). Islām's greatest jihād is, therefore, not by means of the sword, but by means of the Holy

2 Abū Sa'īd al-Khudrī said,

It was said, O Messenger of Allāh! Who is the most excellent of men? The Messenger of Allāh, peace and blessings of Allāh be on him, said, "The believer who strives hard in the way of Allāh with his person and his property."

(B. 56:2)

"Some people from among my community shall remain in the ascendant, until the command of Allāh comes to them and they shall be triumphant."1 (B. 61:28.)

4 'Imrān ibn Husain said,

'The Messenger of Allāh, peace and blessings of Allāh be on him, said

"A party of my community shall not cease fighting for the Truth--they shall be triumphant over their opponents. "2

(AD-Msh. 18.)

1. In the heading of 97:10. this hadīth is related with a slight variation: "A party of my umma shall remain in the ascendant, propagating the Truth, and these are the learned ones (ahl al-'ilm)." This shows that Bukhārī took the word jihād in the wider sense.

2. The following explanation of this hadīth is given in the 'Aun al-Ma'būd, a commentary of Adū Dawūd, on the authority of Nawavī: "This party consists of different classes of the faithful, of them being the brave fighters, the faqīhs (jurists), the muhaddithīn (collectors of Hadīth), the zāhids (those who devote themselves to the worship of God), those who command the doing of good and prohibit evil, and a variety of other people who do other good deeds." Fighting in the way of Allāh thus includes the service of Islām in any form.

"Surely Allāh will raise for this community at the beginning of every century one who shall revive for it its faith."3

(AD. 36:1.)

6 Abū Hurairah said,

The Messenger of Allāh, peace and blessings of Allāh be on him, said

"How would you feel

3. The preceding two Hadīth contain a prophecy that among the Muslim community there shall always be learned people who shall help the cause of Islām to become ascendant in the world; this goes a step further and contains a further prophecy that generally at intervals of a century divinely inspired people shall be raised among Muslims and they shall revive the faith of the Muslim community.

A person thus raised by God is called a mujaddid (one who revives) in the terminology of Islām. The mujaddid is a muhaddath (one to whom God speaks though he is not a prophet), and he is raised up by God to remove errors that have crept in among Muslims and to shed new light on the great religious truths of Islām in the new circumstances which Muslims may have to face in every new age. The most famous names falling under this category in this country are those of Sayyid Ahmad of Sirhind, popularly known as Mujaddid Alf Thāni, Shāh Walī Allāh of Delhi, Sayyid Ahmad of Bareily, and Mirzā Ghulām Ahmad of Qādiān, the founder of the Ahmadiyyah movement, who was accepted generally as the Mujaddid of the fourteenth century of Hijrah, but who was later opposed owing to his claim to be the Messiah, whose advent is spoken of in Hadīth prophecies.

7 Sahl reported,

He heard the Messenger of Allāh, peace and blessings of Allāh be on him, say:

4. This is a further prophecy relating to the ascendancy of Islām. The son Of Mary is the Messiah, and Muslims are told that a Messiah would appear among them. This Messiah is called imāmu-kum min-kum i.e., your imām from among yourselves. In a hadīth of the Sahih Muslim on the same subject, the words are wa amma-kum min-kum, i.e., he (the Messiah) shall be your imām from among yourselves, leaving no doubt that a member of the Muslim community would be raised to the dignity of the Messiah. These words were no doubt added by the Holy Prophet to remove the possible misconception that the Israelite Messiah would appear among Muslims.

The Messiah's work is thus described in the Bukhārī "The son of Mary will appear among you as a judge, doing justice (between people), and he will break the Cross and kill the swine" (B. 60:49). This clearly shows that the Messiah would come when the religion of the Cross will be in the ascendant, and that his work will be to spread Islām among the Christian nations of the world in particular. which in other Hadīth is described as the rising of the sun in the West, the sun standing for the Sun of Islām and the West for the Western nations. Thus this prophecy speaks in fact of the final ascendancy of Islām in the world.

(B. 56:102.)

8 Ibn 'Abbās reported,

The Messenger of Allāh, peace and blessings of Allāh be on him, wrote to the Cæsar inviting him to Islām, and sent his letter to him with Dihyah al-Kalbī, and the Messenger of Allāh, peace and blessings of Allāh be on him, ordered him to make it over to the Chief of Busrā that he might send it to the Caesar.6

(B. 56:102.)

5. These instructions were given to 'Ali by the Holy Prophet in the expedition of Khaibar, which shows that invitation to Islām was the greatest jihād of Muslims.

6. This Hadīth which speaks of the Holy Prophet inviting the Cæsar to Islām forms part of the chapter on Jihad in the Bukhārī, which again shows the wide sense in which jihād was interpreted by Muslims. The subject-matter of the letter written is produced in the next hadīth, which should be treated as a supplement to this hadīth.

10 Salamah said,

I swore allegiance to the Prophet, peace and blessings of Allāh be on him, then I turned to the shade of a tree. When the crowd diminished, he (the Prophet) said, "O Ibn al-Akwa'! Will thou not swear allegiance?" He said, I said, I have already sworn allegiance, O Messenger of Allāh! He said, "And do it again." So I swore allegiance to him a second time. I (the reporter) said to him, O Abu Muslim! For what did you swear allegiance (to him) then? He said, For death.8

(B. 56:110.)

7. B. 1:1 is a very long hadīth, only the part relating to the letter spoken of in the last hadīth is produced here. The subject-matter of the letter is a clear proof that invitation to Islām was not accompanied by any threat of hostilities. Similar letters were written to other rulers.

8 This happened at Hudaibiyah where the famous truce of that name was concluded. Swearing allegiance for death meant that a man would defend Islām and stand by the Holy Prophet even though he had to face death.

And know that paradise is beneath the protection of the swords."9

(B. 56:22.)

12 Abū Hurairah said,

I heard the Prophet, peace and blessings of Allāh be on him, say

"By Him in Whose hand is my soul, were it not that there are men among the believers who cannot bear to remain behind me--and I do not find that on which to carry them--I would not remain behind an army that fights in the way of Allāh; and by Him in Whose hand is my soul. I love that I

9. The word zilāl used in the hadīth is plural of zill which generally means shadow, but it really means that which serves to protect a thing. The Hadīth emphasizes a Muslim's duty to be always ready to fight for the defence of the Truth. Muslims could not use the sword otherwise than in defence (v. 5).

13 Abū Hurairah said,

The Messenger of Allāh, peace and blessings of Allāh be on him, said:

Whom do you count to be a martyr among you?" They said, O Messenger of Allāh! Whoever is killed in the way of Allāh is a martyr. He said:

"In that case the martyrs of my community shall be very few--he who is killed in the way of Allāh is a martyr; he who dies a natural death in the way of Allāh is a martyr; he who dies of the plague (in the way of Allāh) is a martyr; he who dies of cholera (in the way of

(M-Msh. 18.)

14 Anas said,

On the day that battle was fought at Uhud, (some) people fled away from. the Prophet, peace and blessings of Allāh be on him. He said, And I saw 'Ā'ishah, daughter of Abu Bakr and Umm Sulaim, and they had both tucked up their garments, so that I could see the anklets on their shanks, and they were carrying skins (full of water) on their backs, and they poured water into the mouths of the people then they went back and filled them again, then came and

10. The Arabic word for martyr is shahīd which means a witness of truth. One who is killed in defence of the Faith is called a shahīd because he as it were sees the truth with his own eyes and lays down his life for it. This hadīth shows further that every one who devotes his life to the service of the Truth is a shahīd, whether he is killed in a battle for the defence of Faith or dies a natural death or dies of plague or cholera.

(B. 56:65.)

15 Rubayyi' daughter of Mu'awwidh said,

We used to be with the Prophet, peace and blessings of Allāh be on him, (in his battles), giving drink to and tending the wounded, and removing the slain to Madīnah.

(B. 56:67)

16 'Abd Allāh reported,

A woman was found among the killed in one of the battles of the Prophet, peace and blessings of Allāh be on him, so the Messenger of Allāh, peace and blessings of Allāh be on him, forbade the killing of women and children.'12

(B. 56:147.)

11. This shows that in the Holy Prophet's time women did the duty of nursing the wounded and helping the armies of Islām in all other possible ways. As the next hadīth shows, they did the duty of carrying the slain to Madīnah. In B. 56: 63, it is related that a woman, named Bint Milhān, requested the Holy Prophet to pray for her to be among those who sailed on the seas to fight in the way of Allāh.

12. Thus in the exigency of battles Islām did not allow the killing of non combatants. "Do not kill a woman, nor a labourer." "Do not kill an old man, nor a child, nor a woman", are the words of other hadīth, (AD-Msh. 18:4).

'I have been commanded that I should fight these people till they bear witness that there is no god but Allāh and keep up prayer and pay zakāt. When they do this, their blood and their property shall be safe with me except as Islām requires, and their reckoning is with Allāh."13

(B. 2:16.)

13. The hadīth begins with the words, I have been commanded, and the command to fight is contained in the Holy Qur'ān in the following words: "And fight in the way of Allāh with those who fight with you and do not exceed this limit" (v. 5). Muslims, therefore, could not resort to fighting unless an enemy was the first to assume hostilities. What the hadīth means is that fighting begun under these conditions is to cease when the enemy people accept Islām. Bukhārī himself hints at this when he quotes this hadīth under the heading if they repent and keep up prayer and pay the poor-rate, then leave their way free," i.e., cease fighting with them.